Artemis II splashdown

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Anker Desai and in the early hours of Saturday 11th of April, these are our main stories. The Orion Space capsule carrying four astronauts has returned safely, splashing into the Pacific Ocean of Southern California and successfully concluding the Artemis II moon mission. A Iranian delegation has arrived in Pakistan for negotiations with the United States whose team is also on its way. Also in this podcast, the 13-year-old girl who was filming on Snapchat as bombs fell in berut. An air strike struck the building in front of us. The first thing we did was run to another building and I didn't know what to say so I just started swearing I was just so scared. Anigerians are going to the polls in a crucial parliamentary election. History has been made as the four astronauts of the Artemis lunar mission have safely returned to Earth, having made the first man voyage to the moon and back in over half a century. There are Orion capsule splashed down into the Pacific Ocean after 10 days in space. They've broken the record for the furthest humans have ever traveled into space. This was the moment the Bozai Splashdown took place on the official NASA feed. On VLDR, Splashdown confirmed at 707 pm Central Time, 507 pm Pacific Time. From the pages of Jules Verne to a modern day mission to the moon, a new chapter of the exploration of our celestial neighbor is complete. Integrity's astronauts back on Earth. Let's also play the moments a little earlier when communications were reestablished after a very tense six minutes when NASA's mission controllers had no contact with the crew as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. Integrity Houston Comcheck post blackout. Houston Integrity we have you out and clear. The astronauts are said to be in excellent shape and have now been taken by helicopter to a US Navy ship. Just after the splashdown was confirmed, I spoke to our science correspondent, Pallab Ghosh. History's been made and it's been made to perfection. This mission has so far been flawless. The tense moment was when the capsule entered the atmosphere. There were question marks about the heat shield which didn't function properly during the first test flight of an uncrewed mission three years ago. Everyone was a bit worried. Would it work this time with four people on board and it did? We heard there were six minutes of silence. It was excruciating. This was the time that if anything was going to go wrong, it would go wrong then and we were just waiting and waiting to make sure that we heard back from the astronauts and we did. Reid Weisman said, "We can Houston, we read you loud and clear. There was a cheer in mission control and there's just been a cheer in the BBC Newsroom." That said, the shoots have opened. Integrity has splashed down. It just looked gorgeous with its red and white parachutes sailing majestically across the Pacific Ocean. There still work to be done. The rescue vessels are on the way. They need to be extracted from the capsule. These are not trivial matters but the worst is over. This has been 10 days that have made history but it's not the end of the story. Hopefully this will set astronauts up for another test flight and eventually landing on the moon. They say by 2028 but I think they're being a bit optimistic about that. So, Sir Panna, I would like to see more history making in the coming years. You said it could take longer than 2028. Why is that? Well, it's incredibly ambitious. For one thing, the lunar landers have not yet been built. They're supposed to be tested next year by docking in Earth orbit to see if they can dock. The key problem is that these lunar landers are not the lunar landers I remember seeing when I was a boy which was just basically a small van designed to carry three two astronauts down to the lunar surface and back. These are gigantic vehicles that have been designed to carry infrastructure because this time NASA plans to stay on the moon, take stuff up there, build things. Now these landers need refueling and they'll need to be refueled in space. It's hard enough refueling them on the ground. The Artemis 2 mission was cancelled twice because they couldn't get the refueling right. Just imagine how hard it's going to be in space. So, once they overcome that problem, then they've got to test the lunar lander. So, an awful lot to do in just two years. However, one must say that they have achieved a near flawless mission with Artemis 2. So, who knows, maybe we will see landing on the moon in 2028? Palla, it's been an incredible 10 days for the four astronauts involved. Just talk us through what happens for them. I guess there'll be some strict and stringent medical tests as well. And then when are they likely to see their families and friends and loved ones and and their colleagues at NASA as well? They'll feel a bit wobbly on their feet. Not because their muscles have gone. They haven't been in space long enough for that. But the balance things in the inner ear has not got used to gravity yet. So, they'll be feeling a bit dizzy, but that'll go in a couple of hours. They will be on board the rescue vessel being checked out for any neurological issues, health issues. Once they're past fit, then they'll be able to see their families who must be so relieved and so delighted they're back safely on earth. Palla, gosh. Well, that relief and excitement is being felt by people following this all around the world. Our LA correspondent, Sharma Khalil, was at a landing watch party at the Columbia Memorial Space Centre and told us about the moment the capsule splashed down safely. I have a list of emotions now that I have felt fear, anticipation, excitement, nerves, anxiety, pride, happiness. This is what I was feeling all around me. This is what the atmosphere was like. And then the moments where the people here at the Columbia Memorial Space Centre saw the parachutes deploying and then a huge cheer and then the second set of parachutes and a huge cheer. But then that splashdown happened and the relief was palpable, but also the pride and the happiness. This is of course the same, not just for people here where I am, but also around the country and around the world. I was speaking to a mother who brought her two daughters here at 11-year-old and an eight-year-old and I said, why is it important for you to bring them and she said, this doesn't happen every day, but this is almost miraculous that we get to witness this and I want them to tell their children. I was speaking to Ben Dico, he's the president of the Space Centre and he said, this feels like a concert hall and it feels like we're putting out the best concert in town. And everyone's eyes are on that screen right now and I can tell you this is rock and roll on another level. This is not just for the space enthusiasts. This is also for the families who want to tell their children that they're witnessing history, that they're witnessing a moment that the world hasn't seen in almost five decades and they get to see it live. Shimon, before we let you go, is this something that will inspire the next generation of astronauts? Is that the sense that you're getting in terms of the increased appetite for civilian space travel in the future? I think so and I think this is really what you get from speaking to people here, from speaking to staff at the space centre but also from the community that they want their children to take an interest in this and this is really a stem conscious community of you. They're interested in sciences, they're interested in space and for an event like this, of this magnitude, of this historical heft to happen for the children. It really marks a very important moment in their lives and I think absolutely I was speaking to a teacher here, a retired teacher who said that it's moments like this that you can then push forward, space programs, push forward, space studies for children and get them interested in an early age. A number of children, young children that are dressed like astronauts, boys or girls, they're so cute. I can tell you, and they all want to take pictures next to astronauts so I think definitely yes, everyone has space on their minds. Shah Makhalil reporting. Next, final preparations are being made in Pakistan for historic talks between the US and Iran, which could pave the way for a lasting peace or if they fail, lead to a return to major conflict in the Middle East. The US delegation is being led by the Vice President, J.D. Vance. Before flying to Islamabad, he made the American position clear. We're looking forward to the negotiation. I think it's going to be positive. We'll of course see as the President of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive. So we're going to try to have a positive negotiation. The President has gave us some pretty clear guidelines and we're going to see. The fact that the two sides will be meeting face-to-face is significant enough. But big hurdles remain. No sooner had Mr Vance taken to the skies than Iran demanded preconditions for the talks in Islamabad. And of immediate concern for the global economy is whether Iran will allow more oil to pass through the strait of Hormuz from Islamabad. I'll Pakistan correspondent Caroline Davies send this report. All eyes are on Islamabad. As Pakistan's capital prepares to host one of the most high-profile diplomatic events in its history. Schools, colleges and many offices have been closed over the last two days as this city has begun ramping up security. Driving around the city is increasingly difficult, particularly the closer you get to the red zone, the area where the embassies and Pakistan's government buildings are based. Red zone, Bandai? Red zone, Bandai. Did you see that? So we've made it through some back roads to the area known as Dichuk, which is just on the outside of the red zone. And this is normally a very major road, big arterial road, general avenue through Islamabad, but it is completely closed off as far all the way down the road as far as I can see. And instead, there are tens of camera crews and satellite bands ready to cover the talks whenever they start. Have you come from today to cover this? Istanbul. Istanbul. Why was it so important when did you get in? I mean, it's obviously, it's the most important event in the world. It's going to be the most important event in the world since the talks that are going to take place here is not only going to affect the region, but also directly, it's going to affect the region, but indirectly it's going to affect the whole in a broader sense. The trust is low. The differences between their positions wide and any talks that do happen are likely to be challenging. Caroline Davies reporting will our chief international correspondent at least do set. He is also in Islamabad. After some doubt, as to whether the Iranians would show up, their planes touched down here in Islamabad. And it has brought a very senior delegation, including the foreign minister, the secretary of the defense council, central bank governor, some leading MPs. And most importantly, Iran's parliamentary speaker, a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Muhammad Baghr Galiboth, who's a hardliner, who's regarded as a pragmatist. So he's meant to lead the talks with that U.S. delegation, which is now on its way. But even now, Iranian media are reporting that there are still preconditions that have to be met if the talks are going to happen. Most of all, there has to be a ceasefire in Lebanon as well. Israel has to keep stop attacking the positions of his Bula. And so there's still a little bit of doubt, but if the talks take place, history will be made. They will be the talks at the highest level face to face since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ruptured their relations. Will progress be made as we've been hearing that gaps are still wide. But if they make a start, it will send a signal of a commitment to diplomacy faced with a very real risk of an escalation in an already too dangerous war. Least you set reporting. So what will the Trump administration want out of these talks? Sarah Smith is in Washington. The biggest issue is opening the straight-of-formals because it's the increase in the oil price that's really been hurting Donald Trump with voters in a year, of course, when there are important elections in November. And it wasn't even an issue before he started these attacks on Iran six weeks ago. The other thing that's most important for the United States is Iran's Enriched Uranium. They will insist that Iran stop all enrichment activity and they want to run to actually hand over its existing stockpot of highly Enriched Uranium because Donald Trump has always said Iran must never be able to have a nuclear weapon. And he has been issuing threats throughout the day as well. He's been saying that fresh weapons and ammunition are being loaded onto American warships in the region and that he is ready to use them to attack Iran if he doesn't get the deal he wants. But the truth is there really is no appetite here at the White House or among the American public to start this war on Iran again. But Donald Trump was making his way to Air Force One. He described what he had said to JD Vance before he left to join these negotiations. Well, I wish him luck. He's got a big thing. I will find out what's going on. They're militarily defeated and now we're going to open up the Gulf with them, with or without them. But that will be open. We're going to be or the straight as they call it. And I think it's going to go pretty quickly. And if it doesn't, we'll be able to finish it off one way or the other. Yes, so Donald Trump's sounding optimistic there. But he knows that if he was to return to attacking Iran, it would be pretty unpopular with the American public. So that is not the option that is preferred here. Sarah Smith reporting from Washington. Still to come in this podcast, the Civil War amongst a group of chips. Feeding competition intensified reproductive competition among females intensified and a few males died just before hostilities broke out. This is the Global News Podcast. Let's say it from two members of a family from Beirut who caught up in Wednesday's Israeli attacks. 13-year-old Nair's proximity to some of the blasts was documented in harrowing detail in a video she made on her phone, which is since gone viral. She was with her father filming on the Snapchat app in the street in Beirut at the moment when the assault began. The combination of a child with a Snapchat filter of puppy dog ears and a desperate run for cover as lethal bombs come down called worldwide attention. Nair's mother, Guida Margui, told my colleague Paul Henley about the moment she knew how close her family came to disaster. I received a phone call from her and she was crying and shouting and she said the explosion, building and then the phone cut off. That's all I heard and I couldn't teach her anymore. Just minutes earlier I had heard a big boom and at the back of my mind it was either a sonic boom or it was somewhere far because we had gotten used to normalizing those sounds with this regard at the sound. So when she called and she was crying and she said the explosion and building so at the back of my mind I thought that they had exploded our building. How long until you knew she was safe? It took me approximately three minutes until I could reach her dad and then her dad said him and Naya were together and they were safe but he told me the boys were at home. So I have 11 year old and I have a four year old and I tried to ask him are they good and he kept on repeating. He said the boys are at home so I didn't quite understand where the boys at home and the house exploded or where the boys at home and they were safe. And what did you think when you first saw Naya's now very famous film on her phone? Look when I first saw the video because Naya sent it to me I only saw it one hour later because I was busy and the audience says we didn't know what was happening. I saw that she sent me a video but I didn't open it. But then when I saw the video I just collapsed and I said everybody needs to see this video. I need to post it online so people can see what actually happened. Naya thanks for talking to us. Tell me about those moments when the bombs fell. Okay, basically first I was with my dad because I finished basketball practice and we were walking home. We stopped because a car passed and we heard something but we didn't really know exactly what it was. We continued walking and an airstrikes struck the building in front of us. The first thing we did was run to another building and I didn't know what to say so I just started swearing. I was just so scared. I would like to say I'm sorry for saying bad words in the video. I don't think anyone blames you how long before you felt safe. Tell us about those ensuing minutes. The second we went into the building. We stayed for like one minute and we ran the opposite side of where they hit and I was still scared because I didn't know what they could have done next. Maybe they bombed another place that's next to me. I didn't know what was going to happen. So we started going to my house but from a longer way and when I arrived home I felt the safest there. I've never seen a building falling in front of me and I never thought I would ever see a building falling like that. Naya and her mother Gidemargy talking to poor Henley. Hungarians are going to the polls in a crucial parliamentary election on Sunday with veteran Prime Minister Victor Orban and his Fidesz party facing a powerful challenge from the opposition teaser party. Nick Thorpe sent this report on an election expected to have an impact are beyond Hungary's borders. A chill late preleavening in Sombarté in the far west of Hungary. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is due at any moment, and a crowd several thousand strong is impatient. Many carry Hungarian, red, white and green flags. Miklosh is the mayor of Irn nearby village. I support him because he helps families, and especially because of the cap he has imposed on utility bills. And the cap on fuel prices now. In the election campaign, Viktor Orbán stresses one theme above all. He stands for peace in neighbouring Ukraine, he says, while his rival Peter Maja of the Tissop party would drag Hungary into the war against Russia, with those he calls the war mongers in Brussels. In such a situation, we cannot allow a pro-Ukrainian government to replace a national government and send your money to support the war in Ukraine. But in the crowd, mixed with the chance of his own supporters with the chance of the opposition. Filthy fides they shouted, a common refrain from those who accused this government of feathering its own nest. Viktor Orbán is fighting for his political life. I've come to Kishkoun Lotshazer, just south of Budapest, to see Peter Maja address at Tissop party rally. The crowd is younger, the candidate is 17 years younger than Orbán. He speaks calmly to them while Orbán bellows into the microphone. He preaches a message of unity, of an end to the division, the constant search for external and internal enemies of the Orbán years. In the crowd, I spoke to some of those who gathered to hear him at 9 o'clock on a spring morning. I really want a big change. I believe he is a very honest person. He discovered many bad things that Orbán did. Driving back to Budapest, I listen to the news on the state radio. It begins with 10 minutes devoted to the Fidesz message with just one minute for the Tissop party. The last weeks have been marked by many scandals. Victor Orbán has long been described as the most pro-Russian leader in the EU. And it's not just the Russians. The US Vice President, JD Vance, was in Budapest this week to lend Mr. Orbán his support. You have stood up to the bureaucrats, you have stood up to the Nailas. And now I wonder, will you do it again? It's strange to see an election splitting NATO, the US with Orbán, most other members rooting for the other side. But time is running out for anyone hoping to influence this election. A record turnout is expected on Sunday. Rarely has so much attention from around the world been focused on this small central European country. Nick Thorpe reporting. Chimpanzis are known for their intelligence and curiosity, but also their potential for violence. They regularly fight over food, mates and rank. But new research has documented how that aggression seems to have brought over into what amounts to a civil war. The study in the journal Science follows 30 years of chip behaviour in Kibale National Park in Uganda. It's given us an insight into how and why feuds develop between groups. One of the co-authors of the study is John Metani, a primate behavioural ecologist at the University of Michigan in the US. He told my colleague Pete Ross that he initially went to study the group because it was unusually large. There were well over 100 chimpanzees at the time. So it took several years actually to nail down the precise number of chimps when it was clear that the number was well over 100. And that was double the size of any other chimpanzee group that had been studying the wild previously. In this very large group of chimpanzees, I think one thing that they had to do in order to maintain cohesiveness and to hold together with so many chimps around is to actually cooperate with each other. And we spent many years documenting the cooperative behaviour of the male chimpanzees in this group. And with that cooperation, they were able to dominate their neighbours. They expanded their territories as a result. They gained more food and they gained fitness or reproductive benefits. And the group increased even more in size. So it sounds like things were going swimmingly. And then there was a moment and then violence broke out. And then there was a lot of people who were in the group. That came together that led to the split. And can we learn anything about our own human capacity for violence or conflicts from times when it seems that it's peaceful and then suddenly things erupt? Can we learn anything at all? I've studied chimpanzees now for a very long time. And if there's one thing I've come to learn is not how similar they are to us, but that they're different. We've known for a very long time that chimpanzees will kill and attack their neighbors. This is probably a finding recorder in this paper is that they will do so even when those neighbors are former friends and allies. So chimpanzees appear to consider outsiders as the enemy, no matter who they are. We typically don't act in this way. When stark difference that exists between chimps and humans is that we're an unusually pro-social and cooperative species. We go out of our way to help and aid neighbors, some of whom may be total strangers. And the stability to get along with others as unusual is not unique. Well, aggression and wars break out among humans from time to time. For the most part, we're able to look peaceably side by side with others. Now in a world that includes over 8 billion people. So this is difference between chimpanzees and humans is something that actually gives me hope, especially in this time of increasing polarization. John Mitani. And finally we go to Japan, where the Prime Minister, Sanei Takagi, took time out from her busy schedule on Friday to meet some of her heroes, members of the British rock bandit purple, who begin a tour of Japan on Saturday. The group has a close association with the East Asian nation, which it first toured more than 50 years ago. The album made in Japan is one of rock music's most revered live recordings from Tokyo, Karumi Mori reports. Sanei Takagi is known as a heavy metal fan, and she gave a whoop of delight as she met the band. The Prime Minister said she first bought their album "Machine Head" as a schoolgirl, and later even performed in a deep purple tribute band. The group are touring Japan again more than 50 years after they first visited. Ms Takagi presented the drummer Ian Pays with a set of signed drumsticks and told him, "You are my god." Karumi Mori. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at [email protected] And you can also find us on X @BBCWorldService. Use the hashtag #GlobalNewsPod. And don't forget our sister podcast, The Global Story, which goes in depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of The Global News Podcast was mixed by Johnny Hull and produced by Will Chalk. The editor is Karen Martin and I'm Uncle Decide. Until next time, goodbye.